Listen to Your Heart

Chapter 4

Across the pond, Brian and family were enjoying breakfast and discussing the plans for the day.  Hudson opened the door to the dining room announcing a guest.

“Master Brian, we have a visitor,” Hudson announced with a grin.

“I was unaware we were expecting guests,” said Brian as he gave a Justin a look.  Justin shrugged his shoulders; he hadn’t a clue.  However, Gus was sporting a wide grin.  Brian narrowed his eyes.

“Did I miss breakfast?” Patrick asked as he entered the room.  Bree shrieked as the whole family gathered around the young man.  Patrick had finally reached his Kinney height, sharing the similar facial features as the other Kinney men, with one obvious exception…his flaming red hair.  After lots of hugs and kisses, Patrick joined the family for breakfast.

“Patwick,” Bree began using the childhood name she had for him.  “We’re going to the gallery this morning.  Do you want to come with us?”

“Sure, I’d love to,” Patrick replied making Bree smile her sunniest smile.

“How long can you stay?” Justin asked.

“I have to go back after the fete.  The dads are planning to get here a few days before to help then we’ll all go back home together.  My next semester starts the third week of August.”

The conversation leapt from the fete to the day’s agenda, news from home then back to the preparations for the fete.  It was still early morning when the family piled into cars and arrived at the gallery.

“Where is everyone?” Brian asked as they walked into a very quiet gallery.

“Not sure,” said Justin.  “It’s obviously open to the public.”

“Yo, shop keep!” Brian shouted.

“Brian!  Behave,” Lindsay called out as she walked around exhibits to where they were all waiting.

“Hey stranger,” Brian greeted her with a passionate kiss and hug.  “I thought you were supposed to come to dinner,” Brian admonished.  Lindsay greeted the family and had a special hug for her son.  “Please come to dinner tonight; bring Charles if he’s free,” Brian commanded.  Lindsay nodded.

“We got back late last night,” Lindsay explained.  “I don’t think the German gallery owners were very impressed by us.”

“Didn’t they like Justin’s work?” Brian asked; fury passing over his face.

“They loved his work.  It’s us they didn’t like,” Charles added as he joined the conversation.  He passed out gallant greetings especially to the ladies.

“What’s not to like,” Brian asked with confusion.

“Not sure.  Maybe they think we’re pushy,” said Lindsay.

“Pushy?  We’re you interacting with the patrons,” Justin asked.

“Not at all, my boy.  We adopted Brian’s methods of standing off to the side and quietly observing.”

“Maybe we offended them.  They were certainly much happier when we left,” Lindsay said. 

“They were also very happy with the sales on opening night,” Charles mentioned as he led the troops through the exhibits to Justin’s wing.  He also pointed out Sam Auerbach’s section which piqued Bree’s interest.

“Dada, are Mr. Charles and Aunt Lindsay invited to the fete,” Bree asked nonchalantly.

“Yes, of course.  Why?” Brian asked.  Then after a moment of studying his daughter, he asked.  “What are you thinking?”

“Invite the German gallery owners to the fete,” Bree suggested as she studied one of Sam’s smaller works.  It was all angular lines in shades of brown and green.  Bree was unaware she was being scrutinized by the adults.

“That’s not a bad idea,” Justin said to Bree.  “Charles, can you get us their contact information?”

“You’ll have it before you leave the gallery,” Charles assured him.

“There’s three of them!” a very excited female voice called out, echoing through the gallery.  Several frantic footsteps were heard.  The Kinney men were drawing a crowd.

“Does this happen often?” Armand asked Charles with amusement.  Ben just shook his head.

“Not too often but you must admit, they are stunning,” said Charles.  Armand agreed then he and Charles “talked shop” for a while.  Armand arranged for several newer Justin Taylor pieces to be sent to his brother at the Simone gallery in Paris.

“Do you always draw Brian in the nude?” Susanna asked as she was trying not to stare at one of Justin’s more explicit drawings.

“Mostly.  I’ve always been fascinated by Brian’s body from the moment I met him and not only for the obvious reasons.  He can appear skinny but he’s surprisingly very strong.  And he takes care of himself.  After all these years together, he still fascinates me; he’s my favorite subject to draw,” Justin said with love.

“That’s obvious,” Susanna stated.  “Besides the fact that Brian is a very attractive man,” said Susanna as she pointed to the gallery employees that were enraptured by Brian.  “You draw him with such love.”

“You get that?” asked Justin.

“Very much so.  Anyone with a modicum of talent can draw a naked body but your love for Brian brings his beauty to life.  It’s not just sex, it’s love and reverence,” Susanna explained.

“Thank you,” said Justin as he gave his friend a hug.

“Do men and women always do that?” Patrick asked Gus as they stood in front of one of Justin’s floral paintings.

“Do what?” Gus countered with amusement.

“Gawk at us.  Sometimes I think they’ll reach out and touch me,” Patrick said pensively.  “How do you deal with it?”

“It’s a Kinney thing,” Gus joked then got serious.  “My dad has always had to deal with it.  He uses it to his advantage.  Sometimes it’s annoying, mostly I ignore it.  Ray thinks it funny.”

“My dad hates it.  He told me stories of when the gay men of Pittsburgh couldn’t tell him apart from Uncle Brian.  They assumed…you know,” said Patrick with a blushing face.

“Yeah, I know.  Establish your boundaries; you know what you’re comfortable with.  If someone crosses the line then politely correct the situation.  Walk away if necessary and know it will get easier,” Gus sagely advised.

“Thanks, cuz,” Patrick said with a smile.

The family spent another couple of hours at the gallery before heading out to lunch.

*****

“They’re here to help you move to Grassi House,” Debbie informed her son.  He merely stared straight ahead.  “I wish you would talk to me.  I want to know what you’re thinking about this move and … about everything.”

Michael stared at the ceiling of his room refusing to answer.  He wasn’t going to say a thing.  They could do with him whatever they wanted.

Debbie stood and motioned to the waiting orderly to help Michael onto a gurney to be taken down to the vehicle that would transport them to Grassi House.  As they got Michael out of bed and onto the gurney, Debbie reflected on whether this was the right thing to do.  She was torn between wanting her son to show some improvement which was not happening in the hospital, and moving him to a new environment where he might or might not be better off.  She prayed it would help him, but she had no guarantees.

As the transport vehicle headed across the city to Grassi House, Debbie looked at her son lying beside her.  He made no indication of how he was feeling about the move or about anything else.  Debbie reached for Michael’s hand.  She half expected Michael to pull it out of her reach, but he allowed her to clasp his hand and squeeze gently.  Other than that he made no response.

“Michael, it’s going to be okay,” Debbie whispered to her son.  Once again there was no response,

With a sigh Debbie sat back holding Michael’s hand until they arrived at their destination.

“How is he?” JR asked as the attendants were getting Michael out of the van.

“Same as always,” Debbie replied with a sigh.  “Did you get his room ready?”

JR nodded.  “I brought some things from his bedroom at the house and made the room as cozy as I could.”

“He’ll probably never even notice,” Debbie admitted shaking her head.  “He hasn’t said a word all day.”

“Don’t give up, Grandma,” JR said giving Debbie a hug.

“If this doesn’t work…”

“It has to,” JR declared.

They followed the gurney inside.

A woman met them in the hall.  “Please take Mr. Novotny to Room 3,” she directed the attendants.  As the men and the gurney headed down the hallway, the woman turned to Debbie and JR.  “I’m Amanda Strong,” she said holding out her hand.  “I’m the resident nurse here, so I’ll be seeing a lot of Mr. Novotny.”

Debbie shook the hand.  “I’m Debbie Horvath and that’s my son Michael.”

“Yes,” the woman merely replied.

“You’re going to help him, aren’t you?” Debbie asked with a quaver in her usually loud and authoritative voice.

“We’re going to do our best.”

“Mrs. Strong has been showing me around and explaining what they will try with Dad,” JR explained. 

“Please call me Amanda.”

“You can call me Debbie.  I’m really counting on this place to make a difference with Michael.”

“I have read the files the hospital sent over.  We’re going to work with Michael as much as possible.  If you have any additional information that might not be in the files, I would appreciate knowing it,” Amanda stated.

“Could we talk in private?” Debbie asked as she looked around and saw some people in the hallway.  They seemed quite interested in the newcomer and his entourage.

“Come into my office,” Amanda suggested.

“I’ll go see how Dad’s doing,” JR volunteered.  “You two can talk.”  JR set off down the hall to her father’s room.

Amanda led Debbie into her office and shut the door.  Debbie studied the woman as Amanda settled behind her desk.  Amanda was probably in her forties, neatly dressed but casual, not in a uniform.  Her face was soft and full of caring as far as Debbie could tell.  She seemed like a woman you could trust.

“So, Debbie, what did you want to tell me in private?”

Debbie proceeded to tell her about Michael’s life, with Ben and without Ben, and his friendship on and off with Brian Kinney.  She told Amanda about how Michael always seemed to feel that he got the lesser end of the stick, and when his marriage to Ben finally broke up, he seemed to withdraw into himself.

“He’s barely spoken a word in weeks,” Debbie concluded.  “He doesn’t seem to care what happens to him.  It’s almost like he thinks his life is over.”

Amanda nodded.  “I’m glad you filled me in on all this.  I’ve got the medical information from his file, but this sounds much more like a psychological problem than just the physical issues he has been having.”

“I … I think Michael has given up on life.  I don’t know how to help him,” Debbie said sadly.

“We’re going to see what we can accomplish with Michael.  He seems to have lots of support from you and his daughter.  That will help a lot.”

“It hasn’t so far.”

“But this is a new start, and we need to go into this with an open and hopeful mindset.”

Debbie studied Amanda’s face.  She could see that the woman was sincere and this did give her a modicum of hope about Michael’s future.  Maybe they could help him here.

“I guess I should go see if Michael is settled in.  JR might need some help,” Debbie said standing up.

“That’s a good idea.  I’m sure your son will be happy to see familiar faces now that he’s in new surroundings.”

Debbie nodded and walked out into the hall following in the direction that they had taken Michael.  She could hear JR’s voice as she approached one of the rooms.

“Are you comfortable, Dad?” JR was asking.  “Can I get you anything?”

Debbie stopped short of the doorway and waited.  She was hoping she would hear Michael answer JR’s questions.  But, as usual, there was no sound from her son.  She walked into the room.

“How is he doing?” she asked.

“Same as usual.  He keeps looking around like he’s trying to get his bearings, but he still doesn’t say anything,” JR explained.

Debbie shook her head as she stepped closer to the bed where Michael was laying.  “The head nurse seems really nice,” she said to her son.  “I think you will like it here … once you get used to it.”  Debbie looked at JR who was studying her father.  Michael made no sign that he heard any of this.  “I think maybe we should leave now.”

“Leave?” JR asked with a strange look on her face.

“Yes, Michael needs time to take in his new surroundings.  He’ll be able to do that better if we’re not yammering at him all the time.”  Debbie looked at her watch.  “I imagine they’ll bring you some lunch soon.  We should probably go get something to eat too,” she added looking at JR. 

“Um, are you sure?” JR asked surprised that her grandmother wanted to leave.

“Yes,” Debbie said as she turned toward the open door.  “Come with me.”

“Love you, Dad,” JR said kissing her father’s cheek before following her grandmother out of the room.  In the hallway JR grabbed Debbie’s arm to get her attention.  “Do you think we should leave him alone?”

“Michael’s going to be here for the foreseeable future, so he’s going to have to get used to it.  We can’t and we won’t be with him every minute of every day.  This is a new start so we need to set some new rules.  The old ones didn’t work.  We’ll visit once a day and stay for a short time, but Michael will be getting some physical and hopefully some psychological therapy for most of the day.  He has to do that on his own.  We can’t help him with it.  He has to struggle through on his own if he’s ever going to get better.”

“I hope you’re right,” JR said as they walked down the street.

*****

“So, what do you think?” Hunter asked John as he showed John around the house and the backyard.

“I think it’s very doable.  The dining room can be easily converted into a bedroom.  There’s also enough room to add a small half bath and a large bathroom off the kitchen,” John replied.  “I can have the plans ready in a few days then submit them to the city.  As soon as I get the permits we can start.  Do you have kids interested?”

“A few and I’m sure I can round up a few grads as well,” Hunter said with pride.  “Um, what about a ramp?”

“Come outside,” said John.  Hunter followed him out the front door.  “There’s not enough room from the sidewalk to the front door however there’s plenty around the side of the house.  We’ll add a new walkway then create a ramp attached to a deck.  We’ll put in a sliding door which will let in more light and make it easier to enjoy the backyard.  I’ll have a landscaper come in to do something easy to maintain.”

“You’re not going to ask Brian?” Hunter asked with a smirk.

“I think Brian has enough on his plate right now.  Not only will he be hosting Peter from now on, Ben and his new significant other are house guests.  Besides, Peter will be seventeen within the year; he’ll be legal soon,” said John.  Hunter snorted.  “What?”

“Brian has lots of experience with legal teenagers,” Hunter said with a laugh and a waggle of his eyebrows.

“Go,” said John making shooing gestures.  “Don’t you have ruffians to round up?  I want to take more measurements.  I’ll lock up then drop the keys off at JR’s.”

Hunter gave John a sassy salute then left John to his work.

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